The Top Bunk
by Jedi Master Megan
Summary: It has been four days since the mission at Lola Sayu and Fives has no been the same since they left. Still, life insists on going on- before he can think of it, they assign a new person to the now empty bunk of his friend.


**A/N: I wrote this a while back for celebrate-the-clone-wars's Writing Wednesday and I finally got around to posting it on here. Enjoy some clone feels!**

* * *

Four days. It had been four days since Fives' last mission. The mission to Lola Sayu, to break into the citadel. His chest grew heavy again just thinking about it. He hasn't been the same since they left there, like a key part of him got left down on the planet. In way, that was true since Echo…

He couldn't even think the words still. Every time he tried, his eyes got all watery and it became an effort to not break down wherever he was. At least this time he was in his bunk and there was a little privacy if he couldn't hold the tears back.

"Um, hello?" Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he scowled, sitting up and turning to face whoever it was.

A clone with his hair pulled up in a top knot stood by his bunk, and though he had no armor on, every part of him just screamed shiny. "What do you want, kid?" he asked gruffly, still trying to blink away the blurriness in his vision. He wasn't about to let some shiny see him cry.

"Are you ARC trooper Fives, sir?"

He raised his eyebrow at the shiny, trying to put the swagger into his speech and gestures in the way he was known for. "I am. Why do you ask?" He plastered on a fake smile. "Captain mad at me for something again?"

The shiny shook his head, the knot of hair on top bouncing as he did so. "No, sir. I'm actually here because you're my new bunkmate." The words rang through Fives' head. _Bunkmate?_ The shiny offered a datapad Fives hadn't seen he was holding before. He practically yanked it out of the shiny's hand, scanning over the words on the screen as soon as he had it.

 _Bunk Assignment for CT-5385_

 _Torrent Company Barracks_

 _Bunk 57_

 _Other occupant: ARC-5555_

Fives gripped the datapad harder. Somehow, the reassignment of Echo's bunk made his death seem even more final than anything else had since he got back. Once again, he found himself fighting back tears. "They- they _can't_ ," he whispered to himself. "It's _too soon._ "

"The person that was here before me," the shiny said, gesturing to the bunk right above Fives' own. _Echo's bunk._ "You were close with him, weren't you."

Fives nodded, not trusting his voice.

"Batchmates?" The shiny's words came out softly, and Fives got the feeling that despite still being a shiny, this kid had been through a lot. Taking deep breath, he forced his voice past the lump in his throat.

"Yeah. We were."

The shiny looked at the bunk for a moment and then back to him. An emotion Fives couldn't place shone in the younger trooper's eyes. "Then you should take the top bunk." Fives opened his mouth to speak, but the shiny cut him off. "He obviously meant a lot to you, it wouldn't be right for me to take his bunk. You shouldn't have to think I'm a replacement for him." The shiny hesitated for a second before sitting down on the bottom bunk next to him. "I can take this bunk, and you could have the top one. If we do that then… It's still his bunk, in a way."

Fives stared at the shiny, surprised. "You'd really be okay with that?"

The younger trooper nodded, suddenly somber. "Yeah, I- I get what you're going through. I lost most of my batchers recently on my first posting. Me and my brother Dogma, we're the only ones left… This is the least I could do to help."

Fives reached out and patted the shiny on the back, though, he wasn't as shiny as he first thought. Losing your batchers right away was a hard thing to deal with. He should know.

"What's your name, vod?" he asked, not wanting to refer to the kid as a shiny anymore.

"Tup," the younger trooper said, holding out a hand. Fives grasped it tightly, putting on another fake smile to put Tup at ease.

"Fives. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too."

Fives drew his hand back and stood up. The others were already filing into the barracks and climbing into the bunks. Someone said something about the Captain running drills tomorrow. He should probably get to sleep, or at least try to. He hasn't gotten a good night's rest since before the Citadel mission. He was used to it though. Sleepless night are common when you're fighting in the middle of the war. He grabbed his few possessions off of the bottom bunk and moved them to the top, pausing before climbing up the ladder. "Hey, Tup?" he called out.

"Yeah?"

Fives paused again, not knowing exactly what he wanted to say. Finally, he settled on something simple. "Thank you," he whispered, mindful of the others in the room now.

Tup didn't respond. The lights had been dimmed by now, and he couldn't make out the form of the younger trooper on the bunk. It was possible he was already asleep. Some brothers had that uncanny ability to just drop into a deep sleep no matter where they were. Fives didn't think much else of it as he climbed up the ladder to the top. It was only once he had completely settled himself in among Echo's blankets that he heard the quiet "You're welcome."

That night, he got the best sleep he'd had in a long time.

* * *

The next few days, Fives spent some more time with Tup. They weren't being deployed anywhere yet (not after _that_ last mission), and he didn't have anything else he was doing anyways. Besides, Tup was… He was like a breath of fresh air to Fives, breaking that endless, grey routine that had been slowly suffocating him in the days after Lola Sayu.

On those days where Fives felt like he couldn't get out of bed, Tup was there, making sure their brothers didn't see the strong ARC they all admired breaking down. When Fives felt like he needed to do _something_ , whether it be tasks to take his mind off things or punching one of the bags in the training room until his knuckles were bruised and bloodied, Tup was there, keeping him from losing himself in his anger or his grief. And on those rare occasions, when Fives felt like he needed to go through every single memory he had of Echo, lest he forget even one of them, Tup was there, listening to every single thing Fives told him about about the clone that was ARC trooper Echo.

Today was one of said rare occasions, and Fives made himself comfortable sitting next to Tup on the bottom bunk as he shared story after story.

He had just finished telling the story of time he and Echo had helped Commander Tano steal an extra piece of chocolate cake for desert at some celebratory banquet, laughing to himself at the memories of Echo distracting the locals, by _dancing_ of all things, while he and the Commander swooped into the kitchen. As his laughter died down, he realized he hadn't heard anything from Tup. The story should have had his vod in tears from laughing so hard, and yet he heard nothing.

Glancing over, he found Tup staring at the top bunk. A small smile played at the corners of his lips, but he looked more contemplative than anything else. "Tup?" Fives asked. "You alright?" Tup didn't take his eyes off the bunk as he spoke, the words quiet and soft and holding all the meaning in the world.

"I think I would have liked him."

Fives froze, then felt his face break out into a smile, a _real, true, smile_ , as his gaze turned to the top bunk as well. Maybe he was just imagining it, but he thought he could feel Echo there, sitting up on that top bunk, legs crossed as he grinned down at them.

"I think he would have liked you, too."

Tup tore his gaze away finally and a wide grin split across his face. He looked like he was about say something else, but just then, Jesse popped his head into the bunk room. "Hey, Captain's got a briefing for us in the hanger bay. Looks like we're going to some planet called Umbara."

Fives nodded in response and Jesse went on his way. He looked over to Tup again to find the younger trooper staring off into space. He shook him by the shoulders, waving a hand in front of his face. "Hey, Tup. You alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. It's just-" Tup swallowed, suddenly looking very scared. "This is the first time I'm being deployed since I lost most of my squad."

Not for the first time, Fives was struck by how young Tup was. For all that he seemed just as mature as the rest of them, he was still barely more than eight years old. His stomach churned uncomfortably at the thought but he put on a smile for his vod. "Don't worry," he said, clapping a hand on his back. "I got your back."

"Really? You won't be too busy doing… whatever it is that ARC's do?"

Fives smirked. "If you're trying to get rid of me, it won't be that easy." Tup snorted. Fives counted that as a victory. "But seriously," he grasped Tup's forearm, the clone sign for a promise. "I'll watch out for you down there."

Tup smiled back at him and they walked out of the bunk room. Fives froze at the doorway though, turning and glancing at the top bunk one more as their earlier conversation floated to the front of his mind. _I think you'll have one more person watching out for you, Tup._ Fives smiled, still imagining the grinning face of Echo as he left the bunk room behind.

* * *

 **A/N: To anyone who follows my stories, I'm so sorry for not updating! Life has just been really hectic this month. I'll try working on some stuff while I'm on break. On another note, Merry Christmas to anyone who celebrates it! Depending on whether or not I have time in the next few days I might also post a holiday themed thing so keep an eye out for that!**


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